What have you done to your wagon lately? (Let's keep the thread going!)

[nice rims , look good cleanQUOTE=Cyber-Wizard;168095]I've been itching to go out and get started cleaning up those new Eagle Alloys that I bought for the Roadmaster last weekend. They're in really good shape, but they're really filthy. I don't think the previous owner ever touched them with anything other than a car wash brush and/or power washer.

It turned out that I was out of wheel cleaner so made a little mixture of dish soap and engine degreaser. It was only partially effective but I did manage to get most of the road grime off. The backsides of the rims were much worse than the front obviously. They weren't even recognizable as the same alloy. Even after repeated scrubbing the back is still a LONG way from being clean. I decided to jump the queue and give one of them special treatment and started to work polishing it with some Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. I discovered that the rims are covered with tiny little black specs of some sort. They're resistant to pretty much every cleaner that I threw at them although I can scrape them off with my fingernail in most cases.

Despite the temperature being particularly warm for the season today (8C/46F) my hands got pretty cold after a couple of hours and I came in. I took a quick photo of the one that I cleaned and one that hadn't been touched yet. The photo makes it seem like a couple of hours poorly spent but it felt good to be out working on something again.



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(I cleaned the one on the left) [/QUOTE]

 

Heya, Whit....haven't seen you for awhile. Have I just missed you or have you been away for awhile?? Nice to see you again.

 

Progress

Have been doing lots to the wagon in the last few months. In the last week I have finished clear coat on the roof, fitted and polished chrome. Still has a bit of chrome to add but need to seal windshield before I can carry on. Fitted new front shock absorbers, after the earth quakes we have had it has made the roads really nasty. Suspension shops are doing a massive trade at the moment! Fitted carpet a few weeks ago, need to sort through all the trims and install them after the windshield is done, then I can trim the carpet and have that all finished. Have put a coupe of pics in of the inside as requested

 

Oh! WOW, lizard....these pix are a lot better! That is a super NICE wagon!!

 

Here's what I've done so far

 

Yes, McL, thanks for the extra photos of your '69 Rebel. It's trippy to see the steering wheel on the other side! The interior is coming along nicely; your carpeting job looks good.

 

Bob, your engine rebuild is looking good. Is that out of your Plymouth wagon? What size is it?

 

Mike, I had to do the same thing with the aluminum wheels on my '78 Chrysler, and strip the clearcoat. The tires were off, so it made it a bit easier to work on them. I used a spray stripper, which made the application a bit easier. I also removed the wheel weights, exposing some corrosion underneath, probably due to road salt getting trapped there.

I found using a fine grade of wet sandpaper helped remove the deeper gouges, and then I followed with Mother's aluminum polish over the entire wheel. It made the wheels look shiny again.

 

Bad thing about Superbowl weekend is no chance to work on Car! I did show it off to a friend or two who came over to watch the game tho'. Hit it hard again this week.

 

Replaced the hood support on my '94 Century wagon. It's a gas cylinder type. Pretty trivial but a helpful repair after having to hold the hood up with my head while checking the oil.

 

Yesterday I drove up to Woodburn to the local Dragstrip and peddled my skills to them for t-shirt designs. Came home with a load of work for the rest of the year! It was a good trip, wagon ran great and... I scored a set of Cal Custom valve covers on ebay to boot! Tues was a GOOD day!

Nose to the grindstone working hard today tho.....

 

Good for you, jairus! And I have to say....the wag is looking GOOD!

 

Installed the rear seat, reassembled the cargo area and put the front inner fenders back in…..
http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n537/B_Lowrider/Impala%20Wagon%201964/th_DSC01875.jpg[/IMG][/URL[/URL[/URL[/URL[/URL
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Also got some new hardware, to bolt the wagon together..:banana:


Now back home searching the net for some parts and stuff, but the main thing here is that it's nice and warm in the house…………………………………………..

 

finally bucked up and had the headliner replaced. I got tired of driving slouched over to keep the thing off my head! One pic of the "before" (It was too embarrassing to take photos of) and a couple of iPhone pics after. The whole thing, front to back was sagging... the only thing holding it up was the center rib and the dome light!
:2_thumbs_up_-_anima

 

Yeah but.....it looked so sexy before. It looked like a harem tent! Now you only need to do the visors. Looks good!